Cabela’s is scheduled to reopen today after a fire last
month.File photo

RICHFIELD — The Cabela’s
outdoor, fishing and hunting store that’s been closed
since last month following a damaging fire was expected
to reopen this morning, a corporate spokeswoman said
Friday.

“The store still has some ongoing cleanup but only in
contained areas,” Katie Mitchell, communications manager
for Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s parent company, said in an
email.

Mitchell said it could take up to another two weeks
before the retailer would be fully open again.

Still, news that the popular outdoor chain’s doors would
reopen could be welcome news for customers. The
Richfield store’s Facebook page has fielded public
inquiries from people wondering when the store would
reopen since the company posted an online message Feb.
22 about the temporary closing.

The store closed for cleanup after a fire broke out in
an upstairs arcade area on Feb. 21. By the time
firefighters arrived to the incident, the building’s
sprinkler system had extinguished the fire — blamed on
an electrical malfunction with an arcade game — but a
fire official said thousands of gallons of water had
emptied into the building.

Smoke from the fire also damaged some merchandise.

“Any time you have smoke damage on products, even if
minimal, we have to swap that out,” Jack Wlezien, Bass
Pro Shops’ communications director, said last month.